by I’ve been trying to take my writing seriously for most of the past decade. During that time, I’ve completed, at least to the first draft level, eleven novels ranging in length from 60,000 to 126,000 words, 171 short stories from 100-word flash pieces to a 35,000-word novella. Over the course of just slightly more …

by The busy-ness seems to continue. I didn’t get a lot done on the writing front this week and, now that I look back, that seems completely normal when I’m on day shift in the past year. Working nights, I seem to have more quiet time available. Accomplishments rank above zero, but count mainly as …

by From the vault. The note in the original file is that it’s on the occasion of my almost ten-month-old son’s third cold. He’ll be turning 19 shortly. Few things shake your soul Like a baby with a cold Pick me up, put me down Turn me over, turn me around Go away, come …

by So, I’ve never really been a Tragically Hip fan. There are plenty of reasons I should be, the least of which is that I’m related to one of the band members on my mother’s side, not that I’ve seen him since I was a little kid. As close as I’ll get to name-dropping. Far …

by Really. Christmas sucks in a lot of ways and I’m just about as sick of it as I can get. Writing that, I’m fairly convinced I’ll be even more sick of it next year. Hear me out for a minute. Major retail outlets start having a Christmas section sometime in August, more than four …

by I’ve been studying karate for closing in on nine years now, and I get a lot out of it, mentally, physically, psychologically, socially. It’s become an important part of my life and health, and I hope to continue that for the rest of my life. My Sensei fairly often quotes Eiichi Miyazato-Sensei, the founder …

by So not much to report, really. I’ve had a busy, stressful week. Probably, that means I should be writing more. Or, you know, at all. Actually, I got a little bit done in the way of blog posts in the past week, but not much more. I’m not stalled on anything, exactly. I just …

by Words strewn across a page Can capture any age Express random thoughts Show battles won or fought A moment set in time An image held in mind Encourage ideas Share hopes and dreams and fears Persuade or strike a blow Or merely say hello Any voice can be heard By simple, printed word by

by So I think I spend too much time on social networking. And, let’s be honest, most of that is on Facebook lately. I still enjoy Twitter, but I treat that primarily as an information source. I lurk a lot because I find it too difficult to have a nuanced discussion or argument with somebody …

by Conversation is important. Meaningful conversation is important. And I don’t mean the way that men and women talk to each other or separately, because yes, evolution has provided more than one set of basic wiring and we don’t talk or communicate the same way, and yes, some of that can be divided at least …